Homeland Security Appeals Judge's Order To Release Rene Lima-Marin

AURORA, Colo. (CBS4)- The Department of Homeland Security is appealing after an immigration court judge ordered that Rene Lima-Marin be released from custody.

Lima-Marin came to the U.S. as a toddler as part of the 1980 Mariel boat lift from Cuba and had legal residency until it was revoked following his 2000 criminal conviction. Lima-Marin was sentenced to 98 years in prison for the robbery. But he was mistakenly paroled from Colorado state prison in 2008.

Lima-Marin married, had a child and got a steady job installing glass before state authorities realized their mistake in 2014 and sent him back for the remainder of his 98-year prison sentence.

A Colorado judge ordered Lima-Marin released from state prison in May, saying it would be "draconian" to keep him incarcerated. But before he could return to his family, immigration authorities picked him up, citing a still-active deportation order from 2000. His lawyers said a pardon was his only chance to stave off deportation.

Lima-Marin's attorney says the Department of Homeland Security is appealing the immigration judge's decision. Lima-Marin remains in ICE custody.